The Thief of Bagdad

This lavish 1940 "Arabian Nights" fantasy, produced by British mogul Alexander Korda, stars Sabu as the vagabond street kid who fights the evil Grand Vizier (Conrad Veidt in high villain mode) with the help of his giant genie in the bottle (Rex Ingram, joyfully hamming it up). Romantic leads John Justin and June Duprez feel like dull afterthoughts next to the flamboyant fun had by these three. At least four directors helmed pieces of the film, including Michael Powell. It was his color film debut, which is held together by the glorious art direction by William Cameron Menzies, who creates an amazing world for the fantastical wonders of flying carpets, mechanical horses and a 50-foot genie with a bellowing laugh. Criterion's new two-disc edition features two commentary tracks (one by film directors/fans Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, the other by film historian Bruce Eder), a documentary on the film's visual effects (featuring interviews with FX legends Ray Harryhausen and Dennis Muren) and Korda's propaganda feature "The Lion Has Wings" (1940), which he produced when "Thief" went into production hiatus (Powell directed pieces of this as well). Also includes interviews and a booklet among the supplements.